Ram’s 1500 EcoDiesel Sets a New Bar for Pickup Fuel Efficiency

America’s most fuel-efficient pickup truck is officially the Ram (FIATY.PK) 1500, equipped with the new 3-liter EcoDiesel V6, which the Environmental Protection Agency has awarded with a highway rating of 28 miles per gallon. That’s not just good for a truck: There are large sedans and conventional cars that struggle to hit that figure.

In addition to leading the light-duty pickup segment, it’s also a figure that surpasses smaller pickups like Toyota’s (NYSE:TM) Tacoma and the Nissan (NSANY.PK) Frontier. While many other larger V6-powered trucks may sacrifice significant performance for negligible fuel efficiency gains, the Ram spews out 240 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque to enable a tow rating of 9,200 pounds.

Of course, Ram’s top brass couldn’t help but take the opportunity to make a few jabs at its rivals. ”To put the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel in context, it gets 6 [miles per gallon] better fuel economy than the best F150 Eco-Boost,” said Reid Bigland, the president and CEO of Ram Truck Brand, in a company statement. “The Ram 1500 Eco-Diesel has outstanding pick-up truck capability with compact-car-like fuel economy.”

While that last bit might be a bit of a stretch — compacts are now hanging in the 35 miles per gallon-plus crowd — Bigland certainly has the grounds to tout the Ram’s impressive performance and fuel economy harmony.